


Walk You Home

by renjunsmilk



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Walking, johnten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:27:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23128525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renjunsmilk/pseuds/renjunsmilk
Summary: "I can only wish your house was farther, so we can have more time to walk together."
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	Walk You Home

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this for my friend but it seems like a johnten au so here's a johnten au for y'all<3 it's not much but meeep
> 
> my writing hasn't improved but if there's anything you wanna tell me to help enhance my writing, please let me know! ::))) <3

There's something about the cafe that pulls Ten in. Most times, he would despise spending hours in that dark coffee shop at the end of the street because being there usually meant he had to study for a test, or a recitation in Mr. Park's unkind classes. But sometimes, the sudden palpitations that the coffee offers him is worth the shock. It's not uncle Mark's coffee nor aunt Marnie's cupcakes that calls for Ten's enthrallment. It's not the free cookie for every third grande cup he orders either, and it's most definitely not the waiter's quirky winks at him every time he leaves.

Ah, it's Johnny. Johnny practically lives in that coffee shop. All he does is study, study, help uncle Mark do the latte art on Saturdays, and study again. If Johnny was smart enough, he'd notice Ten's eyes on him. But if he was too smart, he'd miss that. Ten hopes it's the latter. Afterall, he's the poster boy for intelligence, and Ten finds that hot about him.

Ten likes hot guys. No, not the ones who flex their hard as rock abs and spend more days in the gym than in school. Hot guys, in Ten's language, are those who snatch the gold medals and highest marks in every debate and test and science investigatory project.

Ah, there he is.

A soft banging in his chest, that's what he gets as the chimes ring against the door opening and Johnny walks in. Ten sips from his grande cup of iced latte, and as soon as he sees him, they make eye contact. He places the glass on top of the table, nods at Johnny's direction, and smiles.

Johnny smiles at him.

The banging inside his chest gets a little too harsh. Maybe it's Johnny's smile. Or maybe it's the fact that they're friends, but no more than that.

Ten watches Johnny. He watches him talk to uncle Mark at the counter, requesting his favorite iced americano which Ten dislikes on the other hand. He watches him drown into the softness of the couch near the glass wall and take his laptop and book out of his bag eventually. And when Johnny freezes for a moment, Ten watches him watch everything else.

Johnny is beautiful. He looks at the things around him with as much passion as usual. Ten had figured that he does that to get inspiration in writing. When he looks, he sees. And when he sees, he feels. That's the kind of person Johnny is. Beautiful.

It's eleven o'clock in the evening, and Ten is not even halfway through his requirements which are due next week. But he's become tired, and is becoming even more tired with every second spent in the cafe.

With exhaustion pouring down on him, he carelessly grabs his things and puts them all back into his backpack with all his might. He can't tell if it's the coffee, or the fatigue. But he hears Johnny's voice and hopes it's real.

"Going home already?"

He looks up to see Johnny smiling down at him once again, and yes, it's real. That's his brand, his round eyes and teethy smiles and prominent cheekbones. They make their way to the back of Ten's mind, and whenever he misses the sight of him, he thinks of how Johnny throws his head backwards as he laughs, drying the tears in his eyes with his long fingers while another joke about the old waiter at uncle Mark's cafe frees from his lips.

"Yep. Gotta leave early for school tomorrow." Although his main reason for going home earlier than most times is wanting to get sleep, Ten's not lying. He promised to meet with a friend at 8 the next day to give a mock exam.

"What a shame, I can't walk you home. I just arrived and started studying." Johnny says. There's something about his tone that tells Ten he's regretful. But why would he be?

"That's totally fine. You don't babysit me." Ten laughs as he tells him this. Well, even though they usually go home together after hours of separately studying in the cafe, he's not Johnny's responsibility at the end of the day. "I'm still curious, though. Why were you late tonight?"

Johnny taps his shoe impatiently, "Got caught up in a meeting with the math quarter," he goes back to his table as he speaks, "which didn't end very well. Alright, I'll see you around, Ten. You better get going!"

"See you, Johnny. Take care." The last two words came out unclear but Ten's sure he heard them for his lips formed a little smile that Johnny only shows to a handful of people. Johnny either smiles cheerfully or doesn't smile at all. So he knows.

The streetlights were all lit and the leaves were dancing with freedom. No cars were passing by. It's almost midnight and Ten's walking at an ungodly hour alone for the first time in a while, but he feels safe despite the darkness. It's probably because he knows Johnny wanted to walk him home. Johnny wanted him safe, so that's how he knows he's safe.

It's push and pull between him and Johnny. No words, no rules. Not even a good morning text. They're just there, existing in each other's day and night. They just walk the length of the streets of their old and almost empty town and talk about how uncle Mark's coffee is best paired with aunt Marnie's cookies and cupcakes. To Ten, that's more than enough.

But he stops in his track. He knows what to do now.

He thinks again, no, that's not enough. He has to tell him. Ten tries to retrack his steps and walk back to the cafe but as he turns around, Johnny was there, following his steps. He has one thing in his mind, Johnny needs to know.

"I can only wish your house was farther, so we can have more time to walk together." To Ten's surpirse, Johnny speaks. He moves closer, and he's become a statue. He's having palpitations again. But if he feels safe, it means he's free. And for the first time, he's certain he wants to free his feelings too.

"Right," Ten starts, "So you decided to walk me home." He chuckles. Johnny won't be able to deny this. He bows his head down and massages his nape. If only he had his chin up, Ten would've noticed the pink hue on his cheeks but they are standing right beside a streetlight, and what Ten noticed instead were the small droplets that fell to the ground. Was it raining? No, it's not. "Johnny?"

"I'm sorry, Ten. This is the last time I'm walking you home." If Ten felt safe, then why does this hurt?

Johnny moves even closer, if that's still possible. Ten doesn't dare move. He doesn't know where this is going. He's meant to tell him he has a crush, he's meant to tell him he's in love with the coffee and the boy who sat across his table at the cafe. "What do you mean?"

It was dark, but it was darker inside Ten.

Johnny smiles but that's not his smile. There's a hint of bitterness in both tails of his lips, and Ten grew even more scared of what was waiting to be heard. But Johnny has to tell him too. "I'm moving to America tomorrow. I'm staying there for good."

"Tomorrow." He doesn't stutter. "Why."

"I tried to tell you sooner, but I just couldn't." If Ten liked Johnny too much, he could hate him just as much. How could he leave him at a time like this? 

"I was supposed to tell you I like you though." Ten breakfrees, but not the way he had planned to do so. Johnny smiles despite the anger that radiated from Ten's words.

"Ten, I like you. I like you more than uncle Mark's coffee. I like you more than maths. And when it snows, I can't help but think of you because you make me feel warm inside."

But Ten doesn't like the sound of it. It was bland. And besides, he doesn't like the direction of their conversation, "What do we do now?" He asks him. Fingers crossed.

Johnny straightens his body, stands like he's never felt broken inside. And that night, the streetlights were still lit but the leaves became dull. Johnny says the words that would break Ten into million pieces, "I guess we just have to stop feeling what we're feeling."

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! my writing hasn't improved but if there's anything you wanna tell me to help enhance my writing, please let me know! ::)))


End file.
